The God of Mischief
by Anniemoonwhisper
Summary: Spiderman and Loki meet for the first time, however Loki's injured in battle. Friendship moments with a bit of hurt/comfort for good measure.
1. First Meetings

**So, I know I'm in the middle of another fanfic and it's 1:48 in the morning here but I just couldn't get this out of my head and finally decided to write it!** **This is kind of during Infinity War (but Loki's obviously alive), I just really loved thinking about how Spiderman and Loki would react on there first meeting, and this what I came up with! Enjoy!**

The ground exploded a mere few feet from him, causing Spiderman to be hurtled to the side. He was still slightly dazed and couldn't believe he was here; among the Earth's... No, the Universe's mightiest heroes, in _space_ nonetheless, delivering a final strike against that evil shrunken raisin with a rock fetish.

Peter pushed himself off the ground, diving for cover swiftly as another shot hit the ground where had been just moments before. A large, protruding slab of concrete was the closest hiding place, and Peter rolled behind it immediately. Taking quick, short breaths, Peter struggled to get his breath back, leaning against the cool concrete. He gripped his mask, puling it off to suck in the cold, fresh air. The sounds of battle continued, and Peter let them echo in his head as he fought to recover from the physical exertion. Man, he should have stayed on the bus. Aunt May was gonna be soooo mad.

As he prepared to launch himself into battle again, Peter heard a strange sound behind him. Turning abruptly, he pointed his web arms to the source of the noise (he realised he didn't actually possess any weapons), when a dark figure stumbled into view. It took refuge in the same area Peter had chosen. The figure was breathing heavily, peering around the edge of the concrete. Keeping his hands at the ready, Peter addressed his new companion.

'Who's side are you on?'

Apparently noticing Peter for the first time, the other man looked up at the teenager in surprise. Taking a moment to compose himself, the dark haired man replied, still breathing heavily with a hand on his side.

'I'm happy with the universe how it currently is, I don't fancy half of it dying.'

Putting his hands down slowly, Peter nodded in satisfaction. Still, he was wary of this new character. The only person he knew he could trust for sure was Mr Stark, and he was nowhere to be seen.

The man continued to clutch his left side. Peter assumed it was probably a stitch, with how out of breath the other man was, or a small cut/bruise. The sounds of fighting were getting closer. Peter surveyed the new arrival. His face was worryingly pale, with a gash in his cheek; his long hair was matted with sweat and, Peter suspected, blood. All in all, Peter diagnosed that he was in no condition to fight.

Quickly peering behind the concrete, Peter could make out Thanos, who was being swarmed by multiple heroes and was keeping all of them off his back. Peter would normally contact Tony for advice, however his mentor was right in the midst of the battle and was therefore currently unavailable.

'Karen.' Peter felt the urge to whisper, even in the chaos raging around him. Maybe it just felt weird looking like he was talking to himself in front of a stranger. A wave of relief swept over him as he heard the familiar, electronic voice. He was so glad Tony had installed the AI into his new suit, otherwise he would be in a lot of trouble by now.

'Yes, Peter?' Karen's familiar voice helped Spiderman to get a grip on his situation and concentrate on his self designated task.

'Where can we hide out safely?'

Of course Peter would have loved to join in with the fight and would jump at any chance he got to prove himself as a newly knighted Avenger, however... He had strict orders from Tony to **_stay out of harm's way_**. Not that that had ever stopped him, but since Stark had taken away his suit before, Peter had no doubt that he wouldn't hesitate to do so again, so he decided the best thing to do would be to follow his mentor's instructions this time.

'There is a rock gathering 267.8 metres to your right. You would be covered there.' Thank God he could always count on Karen to not let him down.

'Thanks, Karen.' Peter sighed gratefully.

The older man had been following the progression of the fight from the other side of the concrete. Raising his voice, Peter addressed his companion.

'There's a rock gathering we could head to on the right. We would be safe there.'

The man's face turned to look at Peter as he put on a mischievous smirk.

'Thank you, but I don't tend to run from danger.' As he attempted to stand up, the man's face contorted with pain, although he attempted to hide it. He hissed gently, clutching his side as he sunk down to his original position again. He looked at Peter with a strained expression.

'What have you got?'

Peter motioned for him to join his side. When they were beside each other, Peter added cheerfully:

'I'm Peter by the way. Peter Parker... But you can call me Spiderman!' he grinned happily.

'Loki of Asgard.' The stranger offered in return. Smirking playfully, he added 'God of mischief.'

Peter turned to him excitedly.

'Wait, you're a God? That's so cool! Is it like from the myths? Are you, like, immortal? Do you have like a superpower? Wait, aren't you Thor's brother? Can you do something awesome?'

Loki smiled fondly at him. Damn, this kid was already getting under his skin. In the friendliest possible way.

Peter watched in awe and admiration as Loki snapper his fingers (ever the theatrical) and, right before Spidey's eyes, another Loki appeared. It was followed by another, and another, and another. Peter's eyes widened in wonder.

'Are they your clones? Or maybe holograms? Do you like control them? Are they like different versions of you?'

Loki didn't reply, he just motioned for the duplicates to move in the opposite direction of their path. Peter cleared his throat, as if breaking out of a daze. More serious features took over his face, and he watched as the Lokis steered the fight over in the other direction, leaving their desired path clear. It was a great distraction. Peter thought he could use some hologram Spidermen floating around every so often to confuse his enemy.

'Ready?' Peter checked on his companion questionably, stretching his mask back over his head. Loki just nodded, a set determination shining in his eyes.

'Let's go!' Peter pushed himself off the ground and darted from behind the concrete, driven by adrenaline and mankind's basic instincts to flee perilous situations. Karen was, very helpfully, displaying the distance left on his screen. 200 metres to go. 100 metres. 50. 20. 10. 5...

He made it, unnoticed and unscathed. Not that he'd had much doubt. He had been exceptionally good at athletics every since he'd gained his powers.

Glancing back, Peter saw that Loki wasn't far behind. As he neared the finish, however, a jutting out rock caused to Asgardian to trip... Spiderman's senses were quicker than Peter Parker's brain and, before he knew it, he was supporting Loki from the side. Loki could feel himself losing consciousness. Suddenly, his eyelids felt very heavy and he was extremely dizzy. His hold on reality was slipping, darkness was overwhelming his sight, and then Loki was falling. Just falling, falling into the welcoming oblivion.

'Ummm, Mr Loki?' Peter thanked his super strength as he felt the weight increasing rapidly. He half carried, half dragged the now unconscious Loki down into a ditch between the rocks, sheltered from the harsh winds. Big boulders now hid the two heroes from view. Peter felt himself finally relax a bit, and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

He placed Loki down gently, trying to make him as comfortable as possible, which wasn't easy with absolutely no resources.

As Peter released his grip from Loki's side, the teenager felt something wet and sticky coating his fingers. He didn't need to examine the substance to determine the origin. He had previously entertained the possibility that Loki had been injured during the previous fight, but it had had all of the markers of a small cut. Now, when Peter looked closer, he noticed all of the blood. There was so much of it... there was too much blood. Moving Loki's cold fingers out of the way gently, Peter parted the black fabric to reveal an awful sight.

There was no clean entrance wound, just a jagged hole one might obtain if a sword (or a similar object) was thrust in and twisted. The only time Peter had seen damage on this level was when they were dissecting a sheep's lung in school; Flash had stabbed his with a ruler a hundred times and then flung it across the room. Blood was now pouring out of Loki's wound unstoppably, and Peter knew and dreaded what he had to do. Peter instructed Karen in a shaky voice to switch his web slingers to the compression web. Peter was just thanking the heavens that his new friend was still out cold, when Loki's eyes fluttered, slowly opening to gaze straight at Peter.

'What's going on? What are you doing?' Loki looked around, confused.

'I'm really sorry, this is going to hurt.' Peter looked at Loki pitifully.

Before the God could process what Peter had meant by his comment, Peter pressed the release trigger on his wrist, firing the concentrated web mixture right into Loki's open wound. The man would have screamed, had Peter's next shot not sealed his mouth. Instead, Loki emitted a muffled groan, with tears erupting from his eyes.

'I'm sorry, I'm really so sorry Mr Loki Sir, but I had to stop the bleeding...' Peter did his best to comfort his companion. Once he knew he was in the clear, Peter removed the temporary gag , still apologising constantly. It was all a bit too much for Loki, who's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he let darkness take him again.

Peter stared at Loki sympathetically. This man, who had trusted a teenager with his life on their very first meeting, who had done so well to conceal his injury and his pain. He had obviously had to resort to this before. Peter had never had a sibling, but he would like to think that Thor treated Loki better than to let him suffer like this by himself.

It felt strange, feeling such affection for a stranger twice Peter's age. He just guessed that, ever since he'd gotten his powers, he kinda felt more responsible. For everyone.

Loki looked so calm in his sleep. So harmless. So innocent. Vulnerable. It was hard to believe that this was the same person who unleashed bloodthirsty, colonising aliens into New York a few years back. The thing was, Peter genuinely believed Loki had changed. Call it a strength, a weakness, whatever you will.

Peter Parker just always saw the best in people.

 **Thank you for reading! This is all for now, but I can always write more depending on reactions!**


	2. Reunited

**Hi!**

 **Sorry this took so long, I have had a lot going on and couldn't find much time to write.**

 **I really appreciated all of your kind reviews and I wanted to continue, so here's the next chapter!**

Peter peered cautiously over the top of the rock, crouching low to avoid being seen. In the second that he had dared to look out, he had spotted nothing. No Thanos, no Avengers… just the derelict land of the unknown planet.

Spiderman jumped down elegantly, performing a smooth backflip as he landed stealthily on both feet. Grinning, he turned around to see Ned's reaction, only to remember that his friend wasn't there. He wouldn't get any shocked expression or a gasp of wonder, just the agonising silence that had reigned the past two days.

Peter knew he had to locate an ally fast – he wasn't doing too badly on water, as Karen had told him that Stark had installed a water filtration function in his suit. Peter was reluctant to drink the 'water' at first, but thirst had eventually won the battle. A day later, the teenager had located a small stream that he had deemed clean, and had been drinking from there. Unfortunately, food was very scarce. Peter luckily had his backpack which contained the packed lunch he had for the field trip, but other than that the last time Peter had eaten was on the bus back on Earth, and fighting had depleted much of his energy.

He made his way back over to the hollow in between the rocks, seeing the familiar black shape that resided there. Peter swung down beside the figure, to crouch low and shake it gently.

"Ummm… Mr Loki Mischief Thor's Brother Sir?" Peter tried, expecting the same reaction as whenever he tried: an irritated groan, but otherwise no sign of movement. The God had been asleep for days, and Peter was honestly beginning to wonder whether he would ever wake up again.

This time, however, Loki's eyes opened into thin slits, his pupils flicking sleepily from side to side as he surveyed his surroundings. Focusing on Peter, Loki frowned at him slowly.

"What did you call me?" he demanded weakly, a look of confusion displayed in his tired features.

Instead of an answer, Peter just beamed at his companion, before blurting out happily, "You're alive!"

When Loki raised an eyebrow at Peter's exclamation, the teenager blushed and corrected himself hastily. "I mean awake. Definitely awake. Never doubted you, Mr Loki Sir. Just glad you're _awake_ …" Peter's rambling was cut off abruptly by a sharp hiss of pain from his companion as he attempted to sit up. Loki clutched his side tightly, his eyes squeezed shut and tiny droplets of sweat beginning to develop on his forehead.

Not quite knowing what to do, Peter just pushed Loki down gently to ease him back into a comfortable position.

"Your wound's still healing." He explained matter-of-factly to Loki, who gave him a scornful look that displayed 'you don't say?', however didn't respond verbally. Remembering the water he had set aside for Loki, Peter swiftly pulled out the strangely shaped rock he had attempted to hollow out as an alternative to a bowl. Holding it to Loki's lips, he watched in amusement the contemptuous expression of his friend as he decided whether he should let this puny human child baby him around. Finally he reached a decision, opening his lips obediently. Peter resisted a smile as he caught the God's eye. Loki's gaze was of warning, but deep inside Peter understood the real message. _Thank you_.

The next morning, Peter awoke to the feeling of renewed hope bubbling in his chest. His companion was conscious, and Karen had informed him that she had detected a life form at the edge of her radar, some 10 kilometres away. Helping himself to some water, Peter looked over at the spot where his companion had resided the previous night. The space was now empty and there was no trace left behind that anyone had ever rested there.

Peter scrambled to his feet, frantically searching the area for any sign of movement. He spun around wildly, finally spotting a thin silhouette on the edge of a nearby rock formation. Peter launched a web, pulling himself up to be beside his friend who sat in the rocks, his back resting gently on the jagged surface behind him. Not looking over at Peter, he spoke quietly.

"I couldn't sleep." Looking over at Peter's relieved expression at having located him, he added, "Sorry if I frightened you."

Not replying, Peter stared off into the same direction that Loki was looking in, but he saw nothing but stone and dust.

Looking over at Loki who was obviously engaged in deep thought, Peter cautiously revealed what Karen had told him before. Loki's eyes widened at the possibility of rescue, but fell again as he replied.

"But it could be anyone. It could be Thanos' henchmen, or maybe ever the man himself."

Peter shrugged, explaining anxiously.

"We can't know unless we check. It's like Schrodinder's Cat." At this, Loki stared at Peter, perplexed.

" _Who's_ cat?" Sometimes humans really did confuse him. What in the universe was this earth youngling talking about?

"It's a scientific principa- oh, never mind. The point is, we can't know for certain until we go see for ourselves. Up until then, we can only speculate." Sometimes the nerd in Peter really came out.

"Can't you just have your talking costume find out for us?" Loki inquired, looking at Peter's suit dryly, still mulling the cat thing over in his head.

"She- I mean, it was slightly damaged during the fight. Plus, way out here there's no signal, and her battery is slowly dying. I've never really charged her, but I don't know if I should have to…" Peter trailed off, realising that he was rambling.

"The point is," he began again, taking a deep breath to slow himself down, "I should go check it out as soon as possible." At this, Loki frowned again.

"You've not going anywhere by yourself." He ordered, trying to disguise his worry. He didn't care about this child. He was just a human. Oh shit, how had this kid grown on him so easily? Peter looked at him with those big, brown eyes, full of confusion as he fought to figure Loki out.

Sighing, Loki slowly stood up, trying to look as awake as possible. A look of concentration filled his face as he summoned all of the magic he had left within him, channelling it into restoring his energy and reducing the pain in his side. Loki transformed in front of Peter's eyes; instead of the diminished figure there now stood a tall, proud man with a glint in his eye that could make no one doubt his title. He was Loki, the God of Mischief.

Peter watched in amazement as his companion changed to a figure worthy of legend. The green highlights on his cape perfectly complimented his glowing blue eyes, and the black fabric was perfectly restored, as dark as the wavy locks that fell over his shoulders. Loki decided to leave out the horned helmet. It didn't really seem appropriate in the current situation.

Peter's lips were slightly parted and his eyes unblinking. All of his attention was focused on Loki as he summoned his strength.

"Wow." He breathed out softly, exhaling breath he didn't know he had been holding. Loki's lips twitched craftily, but mostly his eyes betraying how pleased he was with Peter's reaction. Coughing subtly, he raised an eyebrow when Peter remained transfixed.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." The teenager shook his head as if breaking out of a daze, looking away from Loki. He had no idea how to follow on from his companion's actions, so he just grabbed his backpack and tried to stand up majestically… but, being Peter Parker, he tripped over his own feet, causing himself to be thrown sideways and hurtle down to the ground over the edge of the rock.

Loki cried out in surprise, launching himself to the edge of the cliff after Peter who had just disappeared over the side into the abyss below. The God scrambled over the rocks, intently searching for the teenager below.

"Peter!" He called out, desperately trying to find a solution. His heart was going at a hundred miles per hour as he had never felt it go before, and he was suddenly faced with a realisation. He didn't know what he would do if something happened to Peter, and would hold himself personally accountable. He would never forgive himself. And Stark. He already had a strange feeling that the billionaire rather disliked him (probably because of New York, but who knows) and he would never let him live if something happened to Peter under his watch.

All of Loki's doubts and fears were immediately vanquished, however, as soon as he heard a shout from the darkness.

"It's alright Mr Loki! I'm here, I'm fine!" Loki breathed out heavily, closing his eyes for a moment in relief. He looked in the direction of the voice, and, sure enough, there was Peter scuttling towards him. Loki stretched out a hand even though he knew it wasn't necessary, and felt his stomach lurch as the teenager accepted the offer. He grasped Peter's hand, pulling him up to stand beside him. He resisted the urge to hug the Spider-ling, as he stared at him with excitement in his eyes.

"Sorry if I scared you, Mr Loki Sir." Peter apologised, sincerely gazing into his friend's eyes. This simple statement took Loki back to twenty minutes before when he himself had stated _sorry is I frightened you_. Something unexplainable moved in Loki's chest, and he pushed the thought away.

"We should get moving." Loki turned around to disguise the reality that his eyes were watering ever so slightly. He had no idea why he kept feeling this way. There was just something about this kid.

He began making his way in the direction that Peter had pointed in earlier, hearing the teenager scramble behind him eagerly until the two heroes were walking side by side.

The pair walking in silence for quite a while, only speaking to ask for the water or to make similar comments. Finally, Loki addressed Peter with a question.

"How can you climb like that? And that web thing. How does it work?"

Shocked but pleased to be asked this by someone he was keen to impress, Peter answered enthusiastically:

"Well, I was bitten by a radioactive spider which really should have given me radiation poisoning, but somehow it made me great at climbing walls and the such as well as making me really strong and fast." He paused for a breath there, forcing his mind to slow down.

"I see." Loki commented, but the teenager wasn't done yet.

"Mr Stark saw me on YouTube and recruited me to help him fight Captain America in Germany, and made me this awesome suit (even though the web shooters are my own design). I defeated this guy who was called the Vulture and he was actually my girlfriend's dad- it was super crazy but then I got dragged up here into space on a giant donut spaceship to help fight Thanos."

He finally broke off, satisfied that he had covered the basics.

"YouTube?" Loki inquired, not sure whether he misheard.

"It's…" Peter thought of how to explain this to his extra-terrestrial friend, "it's kinda like a… place, on the internet…"

Loki nodded understandingly. Thor had told him of the internet from his experience on Earth. He explained that it was basically millions of books filled with information, but in one small rectangle. It sounded very useful.

"And you can watch and put videos on it. Films and clips. Recording. You know." Loki did not know, yet he nodded again anyway.

"Seems like you had quite some excitement." He stated, just waiting for Peter to ask him back. Sensing the wish, Peter obediently questioned.

"What about you? How did you get… from New York to here?" Loki smiled, preparing his answer carefully.

"My brother's girlfriend got an ancient force embedded in her, I died then pretended to be my father for several years. I got assaulted by a sorcerer when I accidently lost our father. I then got lost in a great place and made lots of friends until Thor showed up and stupidly got himself captured. I then had to rescue him, of course, and sacrifice Asgard while he killed our sister."

Peter didn't know what to say once Loki had finished. His own story seemed quite bleak in comparison. The duo turned a corner, to find themselves facing a familiar gathering of people who looked like they were searching for something. Before either of them had time to react, a shout echoed around the desolate area.

"PETER!"

Spiderman's vision was filled with red and orange and, before he knew it, he was being tightly hugged by a heavily armoured man. He squeezed back, not doubting for a second the identity of the new arrival.

"Mr Stark!" He exclaimed happily once he had been released, beaming at his hero as the metal mast quickly folded backwards. He saw the brief look of joy in his mentor's eyes before they suddenly grew strict and menacing.

"Don't you **ever** do that again!" He ordered, frowning at Peter disapprovingly before his gaze softened and he embraced Peter again. "I'm just glad you're safe." He whispered into Peter's ear, before resting his hands on the teenager's shoulders and staring intently at the 16 year old in front of him disbelievingly, as if expecting him to disappear in a puff of smoke any second.

"Mr Stark, I made a new friend!" Peter announced, looking back at Loki. He seemed to have lost a little colour from his face, and was beginning to look tired again.

Tony advanced menacingly towards Loki, raising his hand. As Peter opened his mouth to protest, he was startled by what Tony did. He offered his hand to Loki. The God looked surprised but he took it anyway, shaking Stark's hand.

"Thank you for looking after him." Tony smiled. At this point, the remainder of the group had arrived. It consisted of Captain America, Black Widow, Bruce Banner and…

"Brother!" Thor rushed forward, not pausing to think for a moment whether it was an illusion or not. He knew it was Loki. He squeezed his brother firmly, delighted to see him again (everyone understood- Thor had explained Loki's true allegiance).

As Thor did this, however, a cry burst from Loki's lungs. Everyone turned their heads to the source of the sound when Thor released his grip in surprise. Peter was by Loki's side as quickly as before, supporting him while shouting for help. Bruce appeared at the front of the crowd, barking instructions as his instincts kicked in.

Tony pulled Peter away as soon as Loki was in Bruce's competent hands, holding him to his chest.

"It's going to be OK." He assured the teenager as they both watched Bruce set to work on his diagnosis.

 **That's it for this time, I have just finished packing to go to the Czech Republic and will have plenty of time on my hands over the holidays to continue this and figure out what happens next!**

 **As always, thank you for reading!**


	3. The Compound

**Hello… I'm alive!**

 **I'm really sorry that it took me so long to update this one. I really have no excuse (although you would not believe the amount of concerts I've played in/been to in the last few months).**

 **The next chapter won't take this long to upload, I promise!**

 **Anyway, without further ado…**

"Peter, will you stop pacing?" Tony looked up at the teenager, who glanced at his mentor in surprise as if he had just been woken up.

"Yeah… yeah, of course." He muttered, taking a seat heavily next to the man. Nevertheless, Tony spotted a vacancy in Peter's eyes that indicated his mind was elsewhere.

"Hey, kid?" Tony glanced over at Peter. "He's going to be alight. Bruce is in there with him."

Peter nodded, however he knew that Tony was here for Peter, not for Loki. The billionaire and the God weren't on the best of terms, but Tony could see that Peter had taken a fondness to Loki… and that was enough for the older man.

Several hours later, Peter's head was resting on Tony's shoulder in peaceful slumber, while his mentor's own head hung down, breathing slowly and calmly, feeling the teenager resting on him.

Peter awoke in his own room that Tony had designated to him the first time Spiderman had visited Avengers Tower. It was adjacent to Tony's own room, and had a window to the other side which overlooked the grounds of the complex. That morning, Peter's eyes fluttered open slowly, not really willing to open properly. Peter hadn't slept for days before this, therefore he really had no reason to get out of the soft, warm covers. Wait a second…

Peter bolted upright, the past few days coming back to him in a blurry haze. He could see Loki collapsing in front of him again, curled into himself with the pain of his injury. He could, once again, taste the salty hint as his tears rolled down his cheeks, seeing Bruce rushing towards his wounded friend. And Tony's comforting words. _It's going to be ok_. Over and over, replaying in Peter's mind until he thought he would go insane. It was time to bring his mentor up on that promise. Rolling out of the bed, Peter stood up quickly, making his way surely towards the entrance of his room and to the compound beyond.

"Mr Stark? Mr Loki? Hello?" The building was strangely quiet as Peter ran through the endless corridors, each looking like the previous. He could hear voices somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint the location so he just kept running, even when he thought his lungs would burst. The voices grew more distant as Peter got closer, moving further away the more he tried to find the source.

The blank corridors were making Peter dizzy, and he started feeling like the walls were closing in on him…

Peter's head jolted upright as he was woken, this time truly, from his dreaming. For a second he lost all vision and memory of where he was, and what was happening, flailing his arms around aimlessly. He felt a pair of strong hands grab his wrists forcefully yet so gently, forcing his hands apart as the character spoke.

"Hey, Guess who. Hi, it's me." These words stopped Peter dead in his tracks as the familiarity of the words dawned on him… and who had spoken them. Finally focused on his surroundings, Peter felt Tony release his hands. They had never left the room outside of the surgery hall.

"Kid, are you ok?" Tony spoke again, noticing Peter's pasty complexion.

"Yeah, m'fine…" Peter mumbled, only just realising that there was, in fact, a third person in the room.

"How is he?" Peter inquired anxiously, looking up at Bruce with expectant eyes and a plea for good news in his gaze.

"He's weak, but… he's going to be alright." Bruce announced, experiencing a subtle warm feeling that spread across his chest when he saw Peter's relieved smile. The teenager was hardly aware of Tony's arm coming up to wrap around his shoulders.

"Can I… see him?" Peter inquired cautiously, doing his best 'please' face at Bruce without even realising it. The doctor didn't think it was the best idea, but eventually agreed.

Peter poked his head around the door cautiously, unable to contain the smile that crept to his lips. "Mr… Loki Sir?" Peter asked cautiously.

Upon hearing his young friend's voice, Loki finally turned around and Peter saw his face. It was a bit weary and battle-worn, nevertheless it had regained much colour from Peter's last encounter with him.

"Peter!" Loki exclaimed, letting his joy overtake him as Peter ran over to his bed, throwing his arms around the God. To his own surprise, Loki felt himself hugging the teenager back, delighted to see him safe and well. At that point, Tony decided to walk into the room and Loki quickly let go of Peter, pushing him away gently and grinning at the teenager with a twinkle in his eye.

"Peter, I am glad to see you are well." Loki feigned formality, winking at Peter subtly who fought to contain his laughter yet played along.

"And you, Mr Loki… It's good to see you again."

Tony raised an eyebrow questioningly, but didn't comment.

"Where's my brother?" Loki frowned, looking around the room as if he expected Thor to be crouching in a corner.

"The people of Asgard needed their King… although he greatly regretted he couldn't stay and he'll be delighted to know you're ok!" Peter answered happily, offering Loki a reassuring smile.

"Peter, you have a training session in ten minutes." Tony reminded Peter quietly. The teenager gave Loki an apologetic look. When Tony was distractedly looking out of the window, Peter glanced around at him to make sure that he wasn't looking before giving Loki another tight hug and disappearing with the whispered promise that he would be back again to visit soon. Peter bounded out of the room like an erratic puppy, his mood elated after his encounter with his friend. Tony and Loki both watched the teenager disappear out of the room, before Tony turned to his companion slowly.

"Loki, Son of Odin," Tony began, "you have violated dozens, if not hundreds of laws of this Earth. Those records are kept in a highly secure facility in an unknown location and, when presented to the court, they would result in you immediate incarceration in a cold, anti-magic cell somewhere in the middle of nowhere for the rest of your eternal life."

"Listen Stark, I-"

"However," Tony interrupted, a mischievous smirk hiding beneath his serious features, "the department of records recently had a… how to put this? A rather generous financial donation and those files were… lost." A warmth crept into Tony's eyes when he saw the bewilderment on the God's face.

"Stark, I shan't forget this… I am forever in your debt." Loki looked Tony in the eye, who frowned and shook his head gently.

"No… you kept my kid safe out there, and I couldn't ask for more." Tony grasped Loki's hand tightly in his, before a first real, genuine smile appeared on his lips. "You don't own me anything."

Per his style, however, Tony couldn't leave any interaction on such a touching moment.

"That's not to say, of course, that if you harm Peter or anyone else in any way that you _will_ be put on the first flight back from Earth or if I hear even a _rumour_ that your actions are less that honourable, so God help me…" Tony trailed off, realising from Loki's bemused smirk that he was not succeeding in trying to come across as menacing. "Well, I should go… Peter will be waiting for me." Tony smiled again, the prospect of spending time with Peter lightening his mood.

"Tony?" The billionaire stopped dead in his tracks as he heard Loki's voice.

"Thank you."

"Get well soon." Came Tony's response as he casually slid out of the room.

"Peter? Peter!" The teenager wasn't in his room, and Tony had searched the whole goddamn compound for him. He had disappeared after training an hour ago, and hadn't come to dinner. Where could Peter possibly be? Unless…

Tony peered round the door of the medical room slowly, intent on taking Peter with him to the dining hall. Yes, there he was: sitting in a chair beside Loki's bed, with a notebook in his hand. He was chattering excitedly, apparently describing an invention to Loki who was listening intently, with a heart-warming smile as he listened to the teenager. Upon seeing Peter so happy, Tony slowly backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He hadn't the heart to break Peter away from his friend and… what harm was being done? Tony made his way over to the kitchens to request some food to be delivered for Peter, along with a handwritten note reminding him to not stay up too late.

Peter's eyes opened quickly, his spidey-sense telling him that something was clearly up. Looking at his watch, Peter saw that it was only two in the morning. He could hear running outside his door and hushed voices. Deciding to investigate, he crept to the door slowly to be able to listen in on any conversations on the other side.

Loki had disappeared from his bed.

In the middle of the night, with no trace. Peter felt himself starting to panic. Deciding to act quickly, he quietly opened the latch on his window and, hastily adjusting a web shooter to his wrist, he swung out of the window into the cool autumn breeze.

"Mr Loki Sir?" Peter called out. He didn't really know why he was on the roof. It was where he sometimes came to think when his life as Spiderman was overwhelming, mostly because Tony never thought to look on the roof. In reality, Tony knew exactly where Peter was but didn't have cameras installed on this part on the roof so that Peter could have somewhere private to go if he ever needed to. Peter didn't really expect to actually find his missing friend here… but what was that black shape on the edge?

"Mr… Loki?" Peter repeated, creeping towards the man who was sat on the edge of the roof.

"Peter!" Loki looked surprised, obviously not having been expecting to be found. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, Mr Loki… you just disappeared!" Peter responded with a slight hint of accusation in his voice, but mostly just glad that he had found his friend. A conversation from their meeting came back to Peter: back on the alien planet, he had been telling Loki all about Earth and his home and how he snuck onto the roof of the Avengers compound when he required a moment of silent contemplation.

"I'm sorry… I was just thinking. And from my room I could hear some infernal Midgardian music that was driving me crazy."

Peter thought back to when he had visited Loki, and had to agree with the God on this one. Bruce may have been a fan of smooth jazz, but Peter agreed that it was indeed infernal, and could drive a man crazy.

Deciding to ask about something else, Peter became suddenly aware of a chill that was creeping down his spine.

"Mr Loki… aren't you freezing? It's got to be below zero degrees up here!"

As Loki got up to follow his young companion back inside, he grinned mischievously before replying.

"The cold never bothered me anyway."

Peter's eyes widened, and Loki proceeded to explain that Thor had shown him the movie Frozen many times as he took some unexplainable great pleasure in comparing Loki to Elsa and bursting into 'Let it Go' whenever Loki walked into the room for the next few months after that. Peter just listened, fascinated and giggling, as he imagined Loki in a blue dress singing in the middle of a snowy mountain. It was a very entertaining image indeed.

 **Wouldn't that be a movie we'd all go and see, if Tom Hiddleson reinacted Frozen and starred as Elsa?**

 **I might do another chapter based on interest (and if I feel like it). As always, any reviews are welcome and I apologise again for the inexcusable delay. I'm sorry, I feel terrible, I shall find some way to punish myself in due course!**


End file.
